The state of venture capital in 2016: ‘No longer growth at all costs’

Venture funding of startup companies has surged during the last seven years and is now back to pre-recession levels.

Yet with the public markets in turmoil and $1 billion “unicorn” companies holding off on IPOs, it’s hard to know what will happen to venture capital in the year ahead.

For one, the sentiment is changing: 82 percent of venture capitalists surveyed by Upfront Ventures used the word “caution” or “concern” to describe the current mindset.

There’s a shift from greed to fear. The FOMO that once drove investors to pile into hot new companies is gone and it’s not longer growth at all costs, said Upfront partner Mark Suster.

Suster delivered his firm’s 2016 venture capital report at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Business Insider was there, and Suster gave us permission to republish his report below in full. Here’s what the landscape looks like from the folks that give startups all the cash to grow: Click on the link for more